Founding of
Les Pesqueyroux (26th March 1984)
A first meeting (the constitution-making General Assembly) took
place on 26 March 1984, four years after the «VillageAlive »
event. Most of those involved in the earlier event were present
at the meeting. The mayor, Roger Besse, pledged the support of
the local council. Also present were Mme Josette Griffoul of the
departmental office of the Ministry of Youth and Sport, Henri
Gonthier the last person to work on the Dordogne boats and whose
testimony remains absolutely invaluable and M. Gérard Doumenge
who, as president of the association « The Happy Gabariers »,
brought with him a wealth of experience. Many local people were
also present offering their skills as artisans, historians,
organisers etc.

Annual general 2004

During the course
of the meeting a decision was taken to use a ‘River Transport
Day’ as the pretext for setting up an officially recognised
association and on 19 April 1984 the statute was published in
the Official Journal : the «Association of Historical Research
for the Sites and Traditions of the Central Valley of the
Dordogne» (A.R.H.R.V.S.T.), Les Pesqueyroux, was born. It was
now time to turn to action and the financial means to do so far
outweighed anything seen so far.

The involvement
of university lecturers and researchers has added a new
dimension to the exhibitions with help from experts in the field
such as François Beaudoin of the Conflans Sainte Honorine River
Transport Museum, Yann Laborie of the Bergerac River Transport
Museum and Anne-Marie Cocula Vaillières, lecturer at the
University of Bordeaux whose book, Un Fleuve et des homes (A
River and Its Men), created quite a stir in university circles
when it came out three years ago. Other experts will also be
involved in future exhibitions.

Financially, the association has always relied heavily on the
support of the commune of St Capraise; since the association’s
creation till the present day, through four changes of local
council, “Les Pesqueyroux” has always benefited from the
financial and logistical help of the town hall. The General
Councillor, Michel Suchod, who has always admired the
association, managed to obtain subsidies for it through the
Contrat de Pays.

The first exhibition of 25 July – 5 August 1984 proved a great
success, with local residents, local politicians and presidents
of other associations present at the inaugural speeches given by
Roger Besse, the Mayor, the President of Félibrige, the Majoral
Monestier and the General Councillor, Michel Suchod. “Les
Pesqueroux” has always been able to count on the presence of
such local figures in events organised since then.
One-off payments have helped certain other projects come to
fruition such as funds provided by the canal-side town halls for
a book about the Dordogne or funding from the Pays du Grand
Bergeracois to mount an exhibition of paintings.